ISRO espionage case: SC asks CBI to conduct further probe into role of erring cops

The Supreme Court Thursday ordered that the report of a highlevel committee on the role of erring police officials in 1994 espionage case relating to ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan be given to the CBI and directed the agency to conduct further investigation on the issueThe apex court said the CBI may treat the panels findings as part of preliminary investigation and asked the agency to submit its report to the court within three monthsA bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar said the report of the threemember panel headed by former top court judge Justice retd D K Jain be kept in a sealed cover and it should not be publishedThe top court rejected the submission of former DGP Siby Mathews who was then heading the SIT probe team that he was not heard by the committee while Narayanan was heardThe bench also comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Krishna Murari said the committee was not to adjudicate the matter but it had to go through circumstantial evidence and form a prima facie view on the acts of omission and commission of erring officialsThe apex court was hearing the Centres plea seeking consideration of the report filed by the committee regarding the role of erring police officials in espionage case relating to Narayanan who had been acquitted and was eventually awarded Rs 50 lakh compensation by the top courtOn April 5 the Centre had moved the top court seeking urgent hearing and consideration of the panels report terming it as a iquestnational issueiquestThe apex court had appointed the panel on September 14 2018 while directing the Kerala government to cough up Rs 50 lakh compensation for compelling Narayanan to undergo immense humiliationIt had ordered setting up of the committee to take appropriate steps against the erring officials for causing tremendous harassment and immeasurable anguish to Narayanan and had directed the Centre and state government to nominate one officer each in the panel Terming the police action against the exscientist of the Indian Space Research Organisation ISRO as a psychopathological treatment the apex court had in September 2018 said that his liberty and dignity basic to his human rights were jeopardised as he was taken into custody and eventually despite all the glory of the past was compelled to face cynical abhorrenceThe espionage case which had hit the headlines in 1994 pertained to allegations of transfer of certain confidential documents on Indias space programme to foreign countries by two scientists and four others including two Maldivian womenThe scientist was arrested when the Congress was heading the government in KeralaThe threemember investigation panel had submitted its report in a sealed cover to the apex court recentlyThe CBI in its probe had held that the then top police officials in Kerala were responsible for Narayanans illegal arrestThe case also had its political fallout with a section in the Congress targeting the then Chief Minister late K Karunakaran over the issue that eventually led to his resignationOver a period of almost twoandahalf years the panel headed by Justice Jain examined the circumstances leading to the arrestThe 79yearold former scientist who was given a clean chit by the CBI had earlier said that the Kerala police had fabricated the case and the technology he was accused to have stolen and sold in the 1994 case did not even exist at that timeNarayanan had approached the apex court against a Kerala High Court judgement that said no action needed to be taken against former DGP Siby Mathews who was then heading the SIT probe team and two retired superintendents of police K K Joshua and S Vijayan who were later held responsible by the CBI for the scientists illegal arrestThere can be no scintilla of doubt that the appellant a successful scientist having national reputation has been compelled to undergo immense humiliation The lackadaisical attitude of the state police to arrest anyone and put him in police custody has made the appellant to suffer the ignominyiquest the apex court had said in its September 2018 orderThe dignity of a person gets shocked when psychopathological treatment is meted out to him A human being cries for justice when he feels that the insensible act has crucified his selfrespect the top court had saidIt had accepted Narayanans plea that the authorities who were responsible for causing such a harrowing effect on his mind should face legal consequencesThe CBI while giving clean chit to the scientist had said that Siby Mathews had left the entire investigation to IB surrendering his duties and ordered indiscriminate arrest of the scientist and others without adequate evidence being on recordThe case had caught attention in October 1994 when Maldivian national Rasheeda was arrested in Thiruvananthapuram for allegedly obtaining secret drawings of ISRO rocket engines to sell to PakistanNarayanan the then director of the cryogenic project at ISRO was arrested along with the then ISRO Deputy Director D Sasikumaran and Fousiya Hasan a Maldivian friend of RasheedaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever